Nickel catalyzed hydrosilane reduction of (het)arenecarboxylic acids into aldehydes

Nickel-catalyzed reduction of (het)arenecarboxylic acids with hydrosilanes in the presence of dimethyl dicarbonate as the activator affords the corresponding aldehydes. The role of the activator is the conversion of the acids into their anhydrides undergoing C–O cleavage. The good yields were achieved in case of substrates bearing electron-donating and electron-neutral groups.